Why does diarrhea occur in rabbits?
Everyone who is engaged in rabbit breeding sooner or later encounters such a phenomenon as diarrhea in rabbits. Of course, for novice breeders, the first acquaintance with such a problem will not be the most pleasant, because they do not know how to help the rabbit, how to get rid of problems with the digestive tract, what to give in order to alleviate the symptoms. That is why it is worth reading this article, which will provide answers to questions such as "why does diarrhea occur in rabbits", "how and how to treat diarrhea in a rabbit", "what should be done with diarrhea in a rabbit at home", “What prevention should be like”.
Diarrhea in rabbits
What should be a normal stool in a rabbit
In the eared ears, both dense formed stools and more liquid ones are considered the norm. In the first option, excrement will look like small hard brown peas.
There is another variation of fecal matter that is often mistaken for diarrhea. At night, rabbits can empty the cecum, its contents have its own name - cecotrophs. However, this is considered the norm and should not cause any concern for the owner of the animals. Often, the fluffy eats cecotrophs, and only traces of them can be found in the morning.
It is necessary to sound the alarm only in cases where there are changes in the behavior of the rabbit, that is, in the presence of any other signs other than diarrhea. In such cases, veterinarians recommend using the help of professionals and not self-medicating, so as not to harm the pet. Behind such an ailment, a dangerous disease can be hidden, which, if left untreated for diarrhea in rabbits, can be fatal.
Causes of diarrhea
Diarrhea in rabbits cannot occur on its own, and medicine does not treat diarrhea as a separate disease. It must be understood that diarrhea is a symptom that signals that a malfunction has occurred in the body. The situation is considered correct when the cause and treatment of diarrhea is determined by specialists, that is, veterinarians
The main causes of diarrhea in rabbits can be identified:
- damage to the intestines of the rabbit with parasites or worms;
- the presence of a fungus in the digestive system;
- enteritis of a viral or infectious nature;
- indigestion, that is, traditional poisoning;
- hunger;
- antibiotic treatment, since the latter kill the natural microflora of the gastrointestinal tract;
- dental problems;
- non-compliance with dietary rules, unbalanced diet;
- an infectious disease, the most common of which is coccidiosis.
Prevention of diarrhea is simple: you just need to take into account the above reasons and warn each of them, in the end you will not have to guess what to do and because of what the eared ones die.
As mentioned earlier, you cannot self-medicate.It is recommended to seek professional help: only a qualified veterinarian can diagnose the disease in time and begin to treat it in a timely manner. In order to identify the pathogen, it is necessary to conduct a laboratory analysis of a stool sample and only then prescribe the appropriate therapy.
It is important to note that true diarrhea in rabbits is not so common and is observed most often in young individuals and even in diurnal rabbits. Adults suffer from this ailment in most cases after being affected by coccidia. Dehydration caused by common diarrhea is often the immediate cause of death after this condition.
Diarrhea in juveniles
If a little bunny swears, this indicates the fatality of the situation. Due to their low body weight, rabbits quickly lose fluid and die from dehydration.
Among the reasons that cause diarrhea in very young individuals, the untimely transition from milk feeding to independent food, that is, to grass and hay, is most often called. The fact is that the stomach of a small rabbit may simply not be ready to digest rough food, which entails digestive problems.
It often happens that rabbits are bought at an early age, around 5-8 weeks. For sale, the baby is excommunicated from the mother, and the new owner feeds the rabbit with other food, which will include compound feed, grass and other plant foods. Weaning from the mother should take place no earlier than the baby reaches the age of 3 months: at this time, the digestive tract of the animal is formed, and its teeth are also getting stronger.
On the forums dedicated to rabbit breeding, you can often find questions regarding the problem of loose stools in young rabbits. Usually, people mistakenly assume that they have acquired a sick animal, and begin treatment for a non-existent disease. First of all, it must be assumed that the rabbit was weaned from its mother too early, its body is not yet ready to receive food for adults. But this only applies to a situation when there are no other symptoms besides diarrhea, and the animal behaves as usual.
If, in addition to diarrhea, a rabbit has a number of other unpleasant symptoms, for example, fever or a general deterioration in the condition, then a bacterial infection or virus should be suspected. As for young animals, most often he suffers from enteritis of a viral or bacterial nature. This disease can become fatal for an immature organism and quickly lead to the death of a rabbit. If the veterinarian has confirmed the presence of enteritis in the baby, antibiotic therapy should be started as soon as possible, since the count can take days.
Features of diarrhea in adult rabbits
Adults can suffer from diarrhea for the following reasons:
- being overweight;
- errors in feeding that the owner of the animals makes.
Let's analyze each reason in more detail.
Rabbit is obese
First of all, you need to carefully examine the pet, whether it seems too well-fed. Maybe he began to move less, tries not to leave the cage once again and spends most of his time near the feeder, looks tired. If the fears are confirmed, you need to revise the rabbit or rabbit menu in order to restore metabolism and help the animal get rid of the accumulated adipose tissue.
First of all, excessively fatty foods and those food in which there are too many calories should be excluded from the diet. The fact is that such food has an extremely negative effect on the structure of the pet, causing excessive growth of adipose tissue. As a result, the animal becomes fat and clumsy.
In addition to nutrition, you should pay attention to the physical activity of the fluffy. It makes sense to purchase ready-made rabbit trainers in pet stores or build them yourself using simple drawings and instructions.
Poor quality food
Poor quality feed can cause diarrhea.It is recommended to exclude fatty foods and those foods that contain too much protein, such as meat. 90% of the rabbit's diet should be only plant foods (grass, hay, vegetables). The animals only eat this, because their stomach is not capable of digesting anything else.
If you "pamper" your pets with sweets and confectionery, you will soon notice problems with digestion. In this case, if the animals have carried it, the fault lies entirely with the farmer. It is also highly undesirable to have excessive fruit in the pet's menu. The fact is that they contain pectin, which will interfere with the normal functioning of the intestines if the rabbit eats fruit.
The owner must ensure that the diet of the rabbit, dwarf or decorative, is balanced, so that it contains the fiber present in hay, grass and oats. Despite the fact that it is a cheap and rough food, for the rabbit it is paramount and necessary for the normal functioning of the digestive tract. If you do not organize a normal diet, soon the pet will develop dysbiosis, one of the symptoms of which is diarrhea.
Implicit causes of diarrhea in rabbits
In addition to the obvious reasons that affect the onset of diarrhea, there are those that are difficult to recognize on their own. To diagnose them, you will have to conduct some laboratory tests of feces. Among the most common causes, the following are identified:
- dental diseases in rabbits;
- diseases related to the genitourinary system;
- an infection or virus in the respiratory system;
- stress.
First aid for diarrhea
Despite no recommendation that a professional veterinarian should conduct treatment, many neglect this and try their hand at treating diarrhea in rabbits.
The first thing to do is to make sure the rabbit has diarrhea and not nighttime feces.
If the rabbit has diarrhea, the feces will be watery, frequent, foul-smelling, possibly even blood and foam. As mentioned earlier, the alarm should be beaten only when, in addition to diarrhea, there are other symptoms.
First of all, you need to move the animal to a separate aviary or cage. This should be done in order to prevent further spread of the disease, if it is bacterial or viral. If the rabbit suffers from diarrhea, you need to carefully monitor the hygiene of the animal, because the fur under the tail will be stained with liquid feces. The pet's desire for hygiene can provoke reinfection.
It is important to immediately review the foods that the animal ate the day before. Perhaps a new component was introduced into the menu that was not absorbed by the pet's gastrointestinal tract. As soon as the rabbit's menu is normalized, you can proceed to the direct treatment of diarrhea.
Diarrhea treatment
How to treat diarrhea in rabbits? Let's give a standard scheme
- The rabbit needs a special diet, it is recommended to give only hay and regular drinking water.
- As a supportive fastening therapy, you can drink a sick rabbit with a decoction of chamomile, it is given 3 times a day. Also, this solution can be used for prophylaxis.
- To remove toxins, you can give ordinary activated carbon or other sorbent.
- Do not forget that diarrhea causes dehydration, so it is important to replenish the balance of lost fluid in time. Saline is the best solution for this.
- If, in parallel with diarrhea, the animal is actively losing weight, it is permissible to introduce the most common glucose into the diet: it will favorably affect the appetite.
- If the rabbit's belly is swollen, this may indicate flatulence, the animal may experience painful colic. To alleviate the condition, the eared are given espumisan every 5 hours.
The best medicine and its correct dosage can only be prescribed by a veterinarian.Only a professional can know how and how to treat diarrhea in rabbits in one case or another, what should be given to a rabbit to cure it, and what should be avoided. It is recommended not to do anything on your own so as not to harm the animal.